THE lives of British troops in action are being put at risk by human rights and negligence laws, it is claimed.

UK soldiers should be guided by the Geneva Conventions said the report

The European Convention on Human Rights should be suspended on the battlefield, says a report today by the Policy Exchange think-tank.

Instead UK forces should be guided just by the Geneva Conventions on how to conduct war and treat civilians and prisoners.

It said the spread of “lawfare”, where British judges have upheld claims where the human rights convention applies in combat, had left Britain open to being sued by enemy fighters, as well as by UK personnel and families.

Fears of court action could hinder commanders’ ability to make potentially life-and-death decisions in the heat of battle, it said. It should be for ministers, not judges, to account to the public for armed forces’ decisions.

One of the authors was ex-Army officer Tom Tugendhat who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was military assistant to then armed forces’ chief General Sir David Richards.

He said that it was ludicrous that the human rights court in Strasbourg in France and British courts “expect our forces to operate in violent combat conditions according to a system more suited to the regulation of police powers on a Saturday night in the West End of London.

“The ECHR was designed for the stable conditions of peaceful, post-war Europe.” It was putting their lives at risk, continued Mr Tugendhat – who is standing as a Tory general election candidate.

“In wars fought against enemies, especially non-state forces who do not even abide by universally binding international laws, it would be irresponsible that the UK puts further legal restraints on its own armed forces.”

Since the introduction of the Human Rights Act in 1998 some 1,230 public law claims have been filed over action in Iraq.

The report observed: “The British armed forces remain the most accomplished in Europe, but they suffer courtroom defeat after courtroom defeat in London and Strasbourg.